The thangka is more than a painting. Sure, it is all homegrown fabric canvas and traditional pigments, framed in brocade and meant to be hung on the wall like a run-of-the-mill painting. However it is a work of great dharmic devotion as much as it is one of skill. It is the Newaris of Nepal, most of whom reside in the Kathmandu Valley and speak a Sanskrit-nishtha language, who paint these thangkas. Each thangka is a singular work of art that takes months to be finished, that also by a group of monks. One must have perfected the plethora of Buddhist symbols and motifs prior to composing one and leading the group that devotes itself to the thangka in question. The work that you see on this page is one such example of this endemic spiritual art, a work that is unique and powerful.

Usually, the central motif that constitutes the theme of the thangka is painted by the most experienced monk that leads the group. The symbols and motifs that complete the painting - the fire-wielding snake-dragons and other fauna included here, clouds, leaves, mountains, and rivulets - are done under his supervision by the junior monks. Seated Shiva and Parvati are leaning against each other, steeped in conversation. Solemn and gathered, their divine stance befits the luxuriance of this thangka. Statement-making jewel tones, a dusky black backdrop, the lush Himalayan landscape, this thangka is the very image of Kailash Mansarovar, the home of Shiva-Parvati.